Hammond side questions Tiller’s record, Seneca responds

The attorney for Zachary Hammond’s family has released an affidavit from a former Seneca police officer citing incidents in Lt. Mark Tiller’s past which the attorney says raise questions why Tiller was not disciplined and why they were not made part of his official employee file.  One incident involved a weapon that was assigned to Tiller but was found by a citizen on the road.  The other involved the crash of Tiller’s squad car into the side of the building while Tiller was responding to a report of an armed robbery.  Hammond family attorney Eric Bland says, “It is time for Chief Covington and the Mayor of Seneca to address the numerous workplace infractions committed by Lt. Tiller….”  Seneca responded yesterday with this statement:  “Nothing has been removed and altered from Lt. Tiller’s personnel file.  It’s not unusual for officers and employees in Seneca, in other law enforcement agencies and in private business to be counseled on a matter and no written documentation be put in a file.  For most agencies and companies, only continued patterns of behavior are noted in employee files.  The fact that nothing is in there reinforces the city’s original statement about Lt. Tiller’s strong history….”